370.1 

H261b 


'/novv* 


BACCALAUREATE  SERMON, 


ORATION  AND  POEM. 


CLASS  OF  1866. 


CAMBRIDGE : 

PRESS  OF  JOHN  WILSON  AND  SONS. 
1866. 


Class  Committee. 


WILLIAM  GILSON  FALLOW,  Class  Secretary , Newton,  Mass. 
JOHN  DAYIS  WILLIAMS,  Roxbury. 

EDWARD  HENRY  CLARK,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
BOOKSTACKS 


H 5G  / hy 


FERYENT  IN  SPIRIT. 

% Stnttoit 

PREACHED  BEFORE  THE  GRADUATING  CLASS, 
June  17,  1866. 

By  THOMAS  HILL, 


PRESIDENT  OF  HARVARD  COLLEGE. 


SERMON. 


“ Fervent  in  spirit.”  — Romans,  xii.  2. 

THIS  phrase  occurs,  I think,  only  twice  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament ; but  the  good  quality  which  it  commends  in 
the  character  of  Apollos,  and  which  it  recommends  to  the 
imitation  of  the  Christians  at  Rome,  is  one  which  is  either 
implicitly  or  explicitly  praised  by  every  writer  in  that  sacred 
volume,  and  one  which  both  nature  and  the  gospel  will  unite 
in  declaring  to  be  essential  in  the  composition  of  every  great, 
nay,  of  every  good  and  useful  man. 

The  gospel  is  distinguished  from  the  law  by  emphatically 
repeating,  as  the  very  sum  and  substance  of  all  the  com- 
mandments, those  two  exhortations  which  Moses  had  given 
only  as  a comment  or  an  addition  to  the  law,  — those  two 
exhortations  to  the  love  of  God,  and  to  charity  towards  men. 
It  thus  sets  the  affections  above  any  understanding  of  the 
law,  or  conformity  to  its  outward  standard ; and  a glowing 
heart  is  made  of  more  value  than  the  knowledge  of  myste- 
ries, the  performance  of  ritual  service,  nay,  even  than  the 
performance  of  works  in  themselves  good. 

St.  Paul,  in  the  text,  bids  the  Roman  Christians  not  to 
cool  this  glowing  heart,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  nourish  and 
increase  its  heat,  — his  word  having  cognate  meaning  to 


6 


“ fervent,”  but  being  even  stronger,  and  commending  the 
man  who  boils  over  with  enthusiasm  and  zeal.  I have 
therefore  considered  it  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and  fitly 
adapted  to  suggest  words  of  cheerful  exhortation  to  young 
men  who  wish  to  do  their  whole  duty  in  the  work  of  life  on 
which  they  are  entering,  and  words  of  warning  also  concern- 
ing certain  dangers  which  beset  the  path  of  cultivated  men 
in  this  age  and  in  this  country. 

There  has  always  been  a danger  lest  a liberal  education 
should  cool  the  fervor  of  the  student’s  spirit.  The  wider 
intellectual  horizon  which  is  opened  to  him  may  have  the 
effect  of  bewildering  his  attention,  so  that  he  is  interested 
in  nothing,  and  puts  his  whole  heart  into  no  occupation. 
If  he  escapes  this  danger,  he  may  have  his  interest  aroused 
only  in  critical  investigations,  and,  instead  of  learning  to 
believe,  may  learn  to  doubt.  While  it  is  true  that  no  man 
believes  heartily  and  earnestly  and  steadfastly  in  any  thing, 
until  he  has  had,  at  least,  sufficient  doubt  aroused  to  make 
him  examine  the  evidences,  it  is  also  true  that  this  examina- 
tion of  the  evidences  does  not  always  lead  to  a steadfast 
belief  in  truth.  Even  mathematical  demonstrations  and 
demonstrated  theorems  are  frequently  attacked  and  argued 
against  by  men  who  have  given  much  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject. Much  more  do  moral  and  political  and  religious  mat- 
ters fail  to  extort  universal  consent  to  the  truth ; and  the 
educated  man,  learning  to  weigh  well  the  various  theories 
on  every  subject,  and  judge  fairly  of  the  arguments  of  oppos- 
ing parties,  is  apt  to  learn  too  well  how  to  hold  his  judgment 
in  suspense : in  holding  his  opinion  without  dogmatism  and 
conceit,  he  holds  it  also  without  any  earnestness  of  convic- 
tion. So  frequently  is  this  the  effect  of  education,  that  I 
heard,  but  a few  days  since,  a distinguished  graduate  of  our 
College  affirm,  that  it  was  the  universal  effect,  and  that  the 
spirit  of  scepticism  is  always  in  direct  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  education. 


7 


But  this  overstatement,  acknowledged  to  be  extravagant, 
could  not  have  been  so  earnestly  made,  had  not  the  fact 
been  patent  that  the  danger  of  education  leading  to  this 
want  of  zeal  is  pressing.  I say  u danger,”  for  we  cannot  but 
consider  it  a danger : the  effect  of  the  destruction  of  enthu- 
siasm and  zeal  is  an  injurious  and  lamentable  effect ; and  it 
arises  from  a defect  in  the  education.  In  those  sciences 
which  are  furthest  advanced,  the  period  of  scepticism  has 
passed,  and  a greater  zeal  is  aroused  by  a larger  culture. 
In  the  pure  mathematics,  for  example,  the  simplicity  and 
ease  of  the  reasoning  is  so  great  that  conviction  is  readily 
produced ; and  a high  culture  in  those  branches,  if  pursued 
in  a judicious  manner  and  under  favorable  circumstances, 
never  fails  to  create  a still  deeper  and  more  earnest  enthu- 
siasm in  what  might  seem  the  most  coldly  abstract  and 
unexciting  topic  that  can  be  named.  The  geometer  who  has 
risen  to  the  highest  generalizations,  or  pushed  his  way  into 
the  most  recondite  specialities  of  his  science,  feels,  while 
explaining  his  results,  or  while  pursuing  a new  inquiry,  an 
intensity  of  emotion  which  can  hardly  be  conceived  by  the 
mere  beginners  in  the  study. 

It  has  been  so,  also,  with  the  various  branches  of  physical 
science  which  have  been  so  marvellously  developed  since 
the  days  of  the  Protestant  Reformation.  When  science  had 
arrived  at  a certain  degree  of  development,  there  were  not 
wanting  those  whose  studies  led  them  to  pronounce  the 
whole  science  illusive,  and  to  sneer  at  the  enthusiasm  of 
those  who  were  seeking  truth  in  that  direction ; as,  for  ex- 
ample, Lord  Bacon  would  have  put  down  the  science  of 
electricity  by  the  contempt  which  he  poured  upon  William 
Gilbert,  and  others  who  were  enthusiastic  in  its  earliest  cul- 
tivation ; or,  as  in  later  days,  Comte  condemned  all  inquiries 
into  the  distances  and  movements  and  chemical  nature  of 
the  fixed  stars,  as  an  idle  waste  of  time ; or,  as  in  our  own 
day,  there  are  those  who  have  ridiculed  the  speculations  and 


8 


investigations  of  geology,  as  an  intrusion  into  realms  where 
no  truth  could  possibly  be  discovered. 

This  contempt  which  has  thus  been  expressed  for  each 
physical  science  at  a certain  stage  in  its  development  has 
not  been  felt  by  those  who  know  nothing  of  the  subjects, 
but  by  those  who  had  tasted,  without  drinking  deep ; by 
those  who  had  studied,  but  studied  in  a critical  spirit  rather 
than  in  a search  for  truth. 

But  the  more  perfectly  each  physical  science  has  been 
developed,  the  greater  has  been  the  enthusiasm  of  its  vota- 
ries, so  that  it  may  now  even  be  feared  lest  they  mislead 
the  public  institutions  of  learning  into  giving  undue  promi- 
nence to  that  department  of  inquiry. 

It  might  readily  be  shown,  that  this  same  development  of 
a sceptical  spirit  of  doubt  has  been  revealed  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  all  historical,  political,  moral,  and  religious  stud- 
ies ; and  has  given  way  again  to  a more  earnest  conviction 
of  truth  and  a greater  zeal,  whenever  the  study  had  attained 
a certain  higher  degree  of  advancement.  Faith,  and  not 
scepticism,  is  the  natural  posture  of  the  mind ; and  if,  in 
regard  to  the  highest  objects  of  human  thought,  we  find  a 
sceptical  rather  than  a believing  spirit  developed,  we  may 
be  sure  that  it  arises  from  some  defective  mode  of  approach- 
ing the  subject,  or  from  some  peculiar  and  incomplete  state 
of  human  science  upon  those  questions.  The  natural 
state  of  the  soul  is  faith ; and,  while  a partial  education 
puts  a man  into  an  artificial  and  constrained  position,  a 
perfect  education  culminates  in  a return  to  nature  again. 
The  final  result  of  advancing  education  will  not,  therefore, 
be  a doubting,  unbelieving  spirit,  but  a spirit  of  faith ; and, 
with  faith,  zeal  will  again  return. 

The  spirit  of  indifference  and  of  moral  and  religious  scep- 
ticism at  the  present  day  is  due  partly  to  the  general  diffu- 
sion of  education,  and  the  general  culture  thereby  of  a 
critical  and  inquiring  state  of  mind,  more  prone  to  sift  and 


9 


reject  evidence,  than  to  be  strongly  impressed  by  the  evi- 
dence which  endures  the  test ; and  partly  to  the  fact  that  our 
moral  and  religious  science  is  at  the  peculiar  stage  of  pro- 
gress when  scepticism  is  most  readily  developed.  Our  own 
country  suffers  from  another  cause  operating  to  a similar 
end.  I have  spoken  of  two  causes  which  may  cool  the  zeal 
and  enthusiasm  of  an  educated  man  at  the  present  day, — 
his  zeal  for  the  discovery  and  promulgation  of  truth,  and  his 
enthusiasm  at  beholding  what  is  true  and  beautiful  and 
good:  this  third  cause  operates  to  repress  his  indignation 
at  wrong,  his  scorn  of  what  is  base.  I refer  to  the  defer- 
ence to  public  opinion ; and,  indeed,  to  the  opinion  of  any 
of  oar  fellow-men,  induced  by  our  democratic  state  of  so- 
ciety. We  become  so  habituated  to  waiting  for  a general 
judgment,  as  one  element  on  which  to  form  our  own  judg- 
ment, that  we  almost  lose  the  power  of  giving  a prompt  and 
emphatic  condemnation  of  a wicked  act  or  wicked  speech ; 
but  wait  to  see  what  the  general  impression  is,  until  our 
righteous  indignation  has  cooled.  We  thus  find,  or  so  it 
seems  to  me,  two  very  marked  faults  in  the  character  of  our 
American  men  of  cultivation,  the  first  of  which  is,  that  they 
lack  enthusiasm  for  the  beautiful  and  the  true,  and  glow- 
ing love  for  the  good  and  the  right.  Even  that  patriotism 
whose  high  deeds  of  valor  have  been  the  pride  and  the  glory 
of  our  Alumni  has,  in  many  instances  which  I have  known, 
been  a heroic  offering  of  one’s  self,  rather  from  a sense  of 
duty  than  from  an  enthusiastic  glow  of  love  and  hope  and 
consecration.  The  other  fault  in  our  cultivated  men  is 
equally  marked,  — that  they  lack  intensity  of  moral  earnest- 
ness in  the  condemnation  of  iniquity.  “ Ah ! ” said  a ven- 
erable statesman  to  me  a few  years  since,  “ you  do  a great 
deal  of  mischief  to  young  men  at  your  University ; you 
polish  their  swords  until  you  wear  them  away,  and  leave 
them,  brilliant  indeed,  but  too  weak  for  use.  Your  young 
men  can  speak  and  write  with  grace,  but  that  grace  has 

2 


10 


been  gained  at  the  expense  of  strength : their  utterance  is 
polished  and  elegant,  but  not  forcible  nor  effective.  They 
have  no  fire  in  their  hearts,  and  therefore  cannot  kindle 
the  divine  flame  in  others.”  I endeavored  to  convince  him 
that  he  was  doing  our  College  great  injustice ; and  I 
thought  so ; yet  I secretly  felt  that  we  partly  deserved  his 
censure. 

I know  the  considerations  by  which  the  cool  and  critical 
spirit  justifies  itself  in  its  own  ways,  and  justifies  its  con- 
tempt of  a warm,  enthusiastic  zeal.  Buckle,  in  his  histori- 
cal view  of  civilization,  professed  to  find  that  all  progress  has 
been  effected  by  intellectual  ideas,  and  that  moral  warmth 
and  earnestness  has  always  hindered,  never  helped,  in  the 
advance.  Fervor  of  spirit  is  represented  as  belonging  either 
to  youthful  blood  and  youthful  folly ; or  else  to  narrowness 
of  mind,  to  a mind  heated  by  the  exclusive  contemplation  of 
a single  topic ; or,  thirdly,  to  want  of  culture,  to  ignorance 
of  the  larger  fields  of  thought : while  coolness,  or  absence  of 
passion,  is  supposed  to  be  a presumptive  evidence  of  a larger 
breadth  of  view  and  of  a higher  education. 

Nevertheless,  I believe,  and  am  sure,  that  it  is  not  so ; 
but  that,  on  the  contrary,  all  progress  and  advance  in  the 
state  of  human  society  has  been  effected  by  the  action  of 
men  who  glowed  with  an  intense  zeal,  and  whose  passions 
were  as  deep  as  their  thoughts  were  large.  I believe  that 
fervor  of  spirit  comes  not  from  youthful  blood  and  youthful 
folly,  but  from  the  original  constitution  of  human  nature ; 
and  that,  in  the  normal  development  of  a well-educated  man, 
it  does  not  grow  any  cooler,  but  is  simply  brought  under 
more  complete  control  and  management  of  the  will. 

The  apostle  exhorts  the  Roman  Christians  to  be  fervent 
in  spirit,  to  retain  the  freshness  and  vigor  of  their  feelings. 
He  would  have  them  glow  with  adoring  wonder  at  the 
thought  of  God’s  works,  and  with  gratitude  at  the  remem- 
brance of  J esus’  sacrifice  upon  the  cross ; and  with  indigna- 


11 


tion  at  the  baseness  and  cruelty,  the  irreverence  and 
godlessness,  of  men  ; and  with  a longing  to  save  them  from 
their  sins ; and  with  a spirit  of  ardent  self-consecration  to 
Christ,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  them  that  believe ; and  with  a 
rapturous  hope  of  rising  to  the  state  where  the  power  of  the 
tempter  shall  have  been  broken,  and  the  soul  shall  know 
and  rejoice  in  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God. 

His  exhortation  is  reasonable.  Fervor  of  spirit  is  an 
excellence,  not  a defect,  in  character.  The  heart  is  higher 
than  the  head ; and  while  blind  passion  without  thought 
may  lead  astray,  and  betray  us  into  sin,  yet  clear  vision 
alone,  without  feeling,  cannot  lead  us  anywhere.  Thought 
must  he  accompanied  by  feeling,  or  it  cannot  culminate  in 
right  action ; and  the  vigor  and  success  of  the  action  will 
depend,  not  more  upon  the  clearness  and  correctness  of  the 
thought,  than  upon  the  strength  of  feeling  accompanying  it, 
and  passionately  urging  the  will  to  the  necessary  vigor  and 
persistency  in  its  decisions  and  commands. 

Feeling,  when  alone,  is  — in  proportion  to  its  separation 
from  a sound  judgment  and  from  a vigorous  will  — worth- 
less. But  so  also  is  knowledge  and  clearness  of  intellectual 
perception,  if  alone,  worthless ; and  energy  of  will,  if  dis- 
joined from  clear  perception  and  from  right  feeling,  is  worse 
than  worthless : it  is  a scourge  to  itself  and  to  the  commu- 
nity. The  healthy  development  of  the  human  soul  in  its  finest 
proportions  would  combine  the  clear  intellect  of  science 
with  the  passionate  warmth  of  art,  and  with  the  resoluteness 
that  leads  to  success  in  the  undertakings  of  either  peace  or 
war.  Neither  of  the  three  elements  of  mental  action, 
thought,  feeling,  and  will,  can  he  reduced  below  its  maxi- 
mum, without  at  the  same  time  detracting  from  the  great- 
ness and  excellence  of  the  man.  The  instinctive  judgment 
of  mankind  has  always  decided,  that  when  a man,  great  in 
either  of  these  qualities,  shows  also  large  gifts  in  both  the 
others,  he  establishes  thereby  a higher  claim  on  our  venera- 


12 


tion  and  our  love ; whereas,  if  he  showed  a special  deficiency 
in  either  of  the  others,  he  rightly  lowers  himself  in  our  re- 
gard. The  highest  quality  of  our  nature  is  a persistent 
energy  of  will ; next  to  this,  ranks  the  perpetual  warmth  of 
a glowing  and  loving  heart ; and  then  comes  clearness  of  in- 
tellect, sharpness  of  sight  and  of  insight,  — yet  neither  of 
the  three  can  be  dispensed  with,  or  greatly  diminished,  with- 
out injury  to  the  man. 

But  strength  and  fervor  of  emotion,  glowing  enthusiasm, 
and  passionate  earnestness,  are  more  valuable  elements  of 
character  than  any  merely  intellectual  gifts  can  he,  as  is 
apparent  from  a great  variety  of  considerations.  They  are 
most  valuable  to  the  man  himself,  giving  him  higher  happi- 
ness,— for  happiness  consists  in  the  feelings,  and  not  in 
cognitions  ; making  him  more  useful  also,  since  they  com- 
municate themselves  to  his  associates,  and  increase  their 
enjoyment ; fervor  of  spirit  stimulates  the  man  to  greater 
activity,  and  stimulates  him  also  to  clearer  thought.  Love 
is  luminous,  says  the  Swedish  seer : thoughts  awaken  feel- 
ing; but,  in  its  turn,  feeling  stimulates  the  intellect  to 
action.  What  gave  such  wonderful  success  to  that  remark- 
able movement  in  the  English  Church  which  was  begun, 
under  the  Wesleys,  more  than  a century  ago,  and  which 
has  wrought  such  great  effects  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  ? 
Not  any  peculiar  clearness  or  correctness  in  the  doctrinal 
views  which  the  founders  of  Methodism  held ; for  they  main- 
tain the  same  form  of  Christian  belief  as  that  held  by  all  the 
Arminian  members  of  the  English  Church.  Their  pecu- 
liarity consisted  rather  in  the  reality  of  their  religious  zeal, 
the  fervor  of  their  spirit,  the  earnestness  of  their  faith,  by 
which  they  removed  mountains.  Taking  the  very  truths  of 
the  gospel  proclaimed  by  other  preachers  of  the  Christian 
faith,  they  applied  them  to  the  consciences  of  their  hearers, 
not  coldly,  and  with  the  logical  deduction  that,  seeing  these 
were  so,  it  behooved  men  to  repent ; but  with  passionate 


13 


earnestness,  with  strong  crying  and  with  tears,  they  plead- 
ed with  their  hearers  not  to  go  down  into  everlasting  ruin, 
not  to  suffer  the  agonies  of  Jesus  to  be  in  vain.  They 
prayed  and  worshipped  until  the  fire  burned  brightly  in  their 
own  hearts,  and  then  they  were  able  to  kindle  it  in  others. 
Therefore  they  wrought  a mighty  reformation  in  the  morals 
and  religion  of  England ; and  therefore  they  have  wrought 
such  great  and  beneficial  effects  in  our  own  country.  Their 
impassioned  eloquence  has  aroused  myriads  from  the  torpor 
of  death,  and  brought  them  into  life ; and  the  love  to  Christ, 
awakened  under  their  presentation  of  him,  has  illumined 
thousands  of  humble  Christians,  and  given  them  a clearer 
knowledge  of  spiritual  things  than  could  be  gained  by  any 
exertions  of  the  understanding. 

_The  superior  value  of  the  emotions  might  be  inferred  from 
the  nature  of  the  fine  arts.  Music  alone  has  the  Scripture 
promise  of  immortality : music  rises  highest  above  the  sug- 
gestions in  nature  upon  which  the  arts  are  founded.  Music 
requires  the  greatest  amount  of  associated  action,  of  aid 
from  other  men  in  the  realization  of  the  artist’s  ideal : music 
is  capable  of  appealing  to  the  greatest  number  at  the  same 
instant,  and  music  arouses  the  greatest  variety  of  emotions 
to  their  utmost  pitch  of  tension ; in  all  which  modes,  music 
declares  herself  the  highest  art.  Yet  music  is  of  all  arts 
least  capable  of  intellectual  comprehension,  least  dependent 
upon  thought,  least  capable  of  expressing  propositions  ; most 
capable  of  expressing  emotions ; most  purely  consisting  in 
the  expression  of  emotions. 

Members  of  the  Graduating  Class,  in  selecting  this  text  and 
this  topic  for  your  consideration  as  you  leave  these  scenes, 
endeared  to  you  by  four  years’  residence,  and  betake  your- 
selves more  directly  to  your  chosen  pursuits  in  life,  I have 
not  thought  of  urging  you  to  cultivate  any  affectation 
of  a warmth  or  fervor  which  you  do  not  feel.  But  it  is 
notorious  that  the  daily  drill  of  recitations,  and  the  sharp 


3. 


14 


* 


competition  for  the  honors  and  the  rewards  of  the  technical 
scale,  and  the  presence  and  raillery  of  companions  who  are 
not  interested  in  the  same  things  with  yourselves,  often 
blunt  the  keen  appetite  for  learning  in  an  undergraduate 
here,,  and  chill  his  enthusiasm  in  study,  and  make  him 
repress  and  smother  the  poetic  ardor  of  his  love  for  truth 
and  for  the  beautiful.  If  such  has  been  the  case  with  any 
of  you,  then  I would  exhort  you  to  free  yourselves  from  this 
degrading  bondage  to  fear,  and  to  shake  off  these  fetters  of 
constraint.  The  highest  state  of  wonder  and  adoration  and 
intelligent  eagerness  for  increasing  knowledge  is  the  truly 
rational  state ; and  the  state  of  apathy  and  indifference, 
the  state  which  laughs  at  scholarship  and  despises  study, 
is  the  state  of  irrational  folly.  The  state  of  soul  in  which 
a young  man  loathes  sin,  and  is  indignant  at  vice,  and  bursts 
out  with  irrepressible  anger  at  what  is  offensive  to  good 
manners  as  well  as  good  morals,  is  a far  higher  state  than 
that  in  which  he  has  grown  familiar  with  the  sight  and  hear- 
ing of  what  is  offensive,  and  allows  it  in  his  presence  with- 
out any  sign  of  displeasure.  “ Be  not  ashamed,”  says  the 
son  of  Sirach,  “ when  it  concerneth  thy  soul ! ” Be  not 
ashamed  of  -genuine,  healthy,  and  strong  emotions ; be  not 
ashamed  to  be  moved  either  to  enthusiastic  admiration,  or  to 
strongest  feelings  of  abhorrence : only  be  ashamed  to  put 
on,  and  pretend  to,  an  emotion  which  you  do  not  feel,  and  be 
ashamed  to  hide  and  conceal  one  which  it  is  your  duty  to 
show.  Remember  that  no  heartless  work  is  fully  acceptable 
either  to  God  or  men ; and  that  God  has  appointed  to  us  a 
varied  task  in  life,  leading  through  sorrow  and  adversity  as 
well  as  through  prosperity,  not  that  we  might  become  cal- 
lous and  indifferent  to  changes,  but  that  we  might  learn  the 
better  to  guide  our  feelings,  and  control  them  according  to 
his  will.  The  work  that  you  cannot  throw  your  whole  heart 
into  is  not  worth  doing : the  word  that  does  not  come  out 
of  the  depth  of  the  heart  is  not  worth  uttering.  Around  you 


15 


is  a universe  full  of  the  most  marvellous  beauty,  and  sug- 
gestive of  unnumbered  problems  of  unmeasured  interest ; 
before  you  is  the  most  interesting  of  all  these  problems,  the 
problem  of  human  life,  the  question  of  the  laws  of  human 
progress,  and  the  part  which  you  can  play  in  removing  hin- 
drances to  their  harmonious  fulfilment.  Within  you  is  the 
microscope  of  your  own  soul,  its  unlimited  powers  of  thought 
and  action,  and  capacities  for  enjoyment  and  suffering,  sug- 
gesting to  you  the  momentous  question  of  your  own  destiny, 
ruin  or  salvation ; and  around  you,  within  you,  above  you, 
is  the  awe-inspiring  Presence,  whose  infinite  wisdom  and 
boundless  power  and  inexpressible  love  are  glimmering 
through  this  veil  of  sense  and  flesh,  and  material  being, 
around  us.  In  this  presence,  and  with  these  topics  of 
thought  and  opportunity  for  action  around  us,  does  it  be- 
come us  to  be  cold  and  indifferent,  without  zeal  and  without 
enthusiasm  ? Nay,  rather  let  your  motto  be  the  apostolic 
exhortation,  “ Fervent  in  spirit ; ” and,  if  unhappily  any  in- 
fluences have  dampened  the  enthusiasm  of  your  youth,  seek 
to  revive  them,  and  to  restore  to  yourselves  the  freshness  and 
vigor  of  those  feelings  which  belong  to  your  age.  Nor  suf- 
fer any  circumstances,  however  depressing,  however  chilling, 
ever  to  cool  your  eagerness  for  truth,  your  love  of  God,  your 
zeal  for  his  honor,  and  for  the  service  of  his  children.  And 
may  his  gracious  Spirit  continually  fill  you  with  increasing 
charity  and  increasing  comfort  in  the  assurance  of  his  for- 
giving love,  with  increasing  joy  in  the  work  of  life,  until  the 
day  when  he  shall  call  you  from  this  school  of  life  to  the 
higher  world  above! 


PRAYER. 

0 Gracious  Father,  who  art  ever  merciful  and  ready  to 
bless  those  that  come  unto  thee  ! accept  our  prayer  in  behalf 
of  ourselves,  and  of  these  young  men  whom  we  are  about  to 


16 


dismiss  from  our  care.  We  offer  for  them  Elisha’s  prayer, 
that  thou,  Lord,  wouldst  open  their  eyes  to  behold  thine 
angels  surrounding  them  on  every  side,  ready  to  help  them  in 
every  battle  with  iniquity,  in  every  struggle  after  truth  and 
holiness.  Above  all,  0 Father ! may  their  eyes  be  opened  to 
the  manifestations  of  thy  love,  and  of  the  love  of  Christ, 
made  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  and  on  the  Cross ; and 
their  hearts  be  opened  to  the  love  of  God,  and  of  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord ; through  whom  we  ask  thy  blessing  upon 
them,  and  upon  those  dear  to  them,  and  upon  ourselves, 
now  and  evermore.  Amen. 


